DSHOT

It was the late 1980's. Roxette was on the radio, shoulder pads were on the way out, and I was studying graphic design. I can't remember which year it was, but one of our assignments involved taking photos. This was a problem for me; I was deathly afraid of cameras.

For me, photography had always seemed so arbitrary, so inexplicable. You never really knew how things would turn out until you developed the film, and by then you'd forgotten what you'd done to make it turn out that way. Whatever it was that was happening in that black and silver box with a lens, it was a mystery.

I ended up doing alright with that project. Then in 1988, a couple of friends and I entered a photography competition at Baptist University, just for fun. We did alright in that as well. By the time I graduated in 1989, I'd decided to be a photographer.

"It's all control"

I don't like shooting people. That's something that I realized quite early on. No matter how much time and effort you put into setting up the shot, as soon as that person starts moving, they're simply too unpredictable, the results too random. With still life, I can control it all; everything can be exactly the way I want it - perfect.

It's amazing the stories you can tell with things that are 'dead'. A tear-streaked face is one way to show a broken heart. A crumpled love letter is another. In my world, 'still life' is as lively as any other kind of photography. Maybe even more so.

These days, I have a growing interest in landscapes, interiors, and spaces. I am finding special relationships extremely fascinating, and manipulating light in large environments is a whole other challenge. And yes, still no people. Unless they're there naturally.